Hopes are high for Representative Gabrielle Giffords, though it is too soon to know. The big question after the horrific shooting in Tucson was, according to Maggie’s Farm, “whether the mainstream media was going to blame Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, the Tea Party, Bible-thumpin’ gun clingers everywhere, or simply Republicans in general.”

We published, on this page, a couple of pieces making gentle fun of Nancy Pelosi. We do not hate Nancy Pelosi, nor do we wish her ill in any way. We wish for her not to be Speaker. We disagree with her ideas. We think her tactics in the 111th Congress were tacky. And we wish she would take a course in economics.

Cannot Democrats defend their ideas without wanting Republicans dead? I have heard the most vile and venomous insults from Liberals wanting to find the words to say something so nasty that — what? they will win the prize for nastiness?— it is as if they were in a contest for who can top whom with the most unacceptable comment.

What I have NOT heard, are Liberals defending their ideas, explaining why their ideas will work, why their ideas are better for the country, why their ideas will help ordinary Americans. I can only conclude that they cannot defend, and that’s why they turn to the venom. It’s truly sad.

I am not impressed with the “changing of the year”. I don’t like New Year’s predictions, resolutions, endless displays of diet books, and the trite lists of ten best and ten worst. They are lazy efforts at glorifying the work of newsmen who increasingly are unable to identify what is important and what is trivial, and don’t want to put much effort into year-end columns.

Canadian columnist David Warren is a man after my own heart. For his “Man of the Year ” column he says:

For my last Sunday column of anno MMVIII, I will announce my selection for “Man of the Year.” It was, at most, a year of thin choices in the public and political realm. Once again, Al Gore did not make my list of finalists.

I didn’t like any of the newly-elected presidents, either; not Asif Ali Zardari, “Mr. Ten Percent” of Pakistan; nor Dimitry Medvedev, the Russian place-holder; nor Ma Ying-jeou, the smooth compromiser of independent Taiwan; nor Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana (if he has indeed won); nor even Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe (who won the election, but did not become president); or Barack Obama of the United States (who won but is not yet installed). I have invested no hope in any of them, and thus must hope to be surprised.

Among Time magazine’s rival list of candidates, I was immediately able to eliminate Steve Jobs, Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney, Rem Koolhaas, “Brad and Angelina,” Oprah Winfrey, and even Laura Bush’s library-science nominee, the Afghan novelist Khaled Hosseini — along with several dozen others among the world’s current, media-recognized, “leaders and revolutionaries, heroes and pioneers, scientists and thinkers, artists and entertainers, builders and titans,” to say nothing of their chefs. (I noticed that nobody nominated Bernie Madoff.)

I also consulted the “100 most beautiful people” of People magazine. After eliminating overlap from the list above, I further discounted “Kate,” “Salma,” Carrie,” the entire cast of Gossip Girl, Jessica Alba, their respective boyfriends where applicable, and anyone with the first name “Vanessa.”…

The whole delightful column is to be found here. You will be surprised at his choice of “Man of the Year”, and appreciate his reasons for his choice. Restores my interest in year-end lists.

Like this:

We interrupt this program to bring you this breaking news: Illinois Senator Barack Obama has still not named his vice presidential running mate! No one knows who it will be. Story at 11:00.

We now return you to your originally scheduled program.

Update: This just in: Live from outside the Delaware home of Senator Joseph Biden. We can confirm that sources close to the campaign have indeed not revealed who Senator Obama will name as his Democratic running mate. Back to you in the studio, Ken.

In fact, this most recent debacle masquerading as a presidential debate raises serious questions about whether CNN is ethically or professionally suitable to play the political role the Democratic and Republican parties recently have conceded it.

Selecting a president is, more than ever, a life and death business, and a news organization that consciously injects itself into the process, as CNN did by hosting Wednesday’s debate, incurs a special responsibility to conduct itself in a dispassionate and, most of all, disinterested fashion. When one considers CNN’s performance, however, the adjectives that leap to mind are corrupt and incompetent. [read more]

At last count, Michelle Malkin had SEVEN Democrat operative plants in the debate. But lest you worry CNN isn’t fair or balanced, the Democrat debate was also plagued by Democrat political plants.

The “mainstream” media has moved far beyond bias and well into blatant propaganda and advocacy. These truly are dark times in the news industry, and as such, dangerous times for the republic.

Those rascally reporters in the “mainstream” media have been working double-time to convince us for over a year now that ’08 is a lock — you may as well stay home, because Americans hate Republicans and will never, ever, ever elect one ever, ever again!

Many Republicans were even falling for it.

Not so fast.

Forget for a moment that the top Democrat candidates are all completely inexperienced, unqualified boobs. Forget also that their current front-runner has a track-record of corruption ten times the length of her resume. And remember that the media always tell us the election is the Democrat’s to lose. Both Al-Gore and John Heinz-Kerry were at one point or another inevitable victors according to the liberal media.

But wishful thinking is no substitute for factual reporting no matter how much the beltway propaganda-slingers wish it were so.

The more Americans see the Democrat party, the less they like what they see.

I have been saying for some time now that Democrats will not nominate Hillary. I have suspected that they will panic, decide she is unelectable, and throw her under the proverbial, unionized, bus. This poll, I think, makes that possibility more likely.

Like this:

For weeks the “mainstream” media have been telling us this would be the gloomiest, doom-iest holiday season for retailers since the Grinch stole Christmas.

They referenced the housing market. They cited polls that said Americans think the economy is tanking, but they didn’t cite the same polls that also show an overwhelming number of Americans say their own personal financial outlook is good to excellent. In other words, most people are doing very well, but they think everyone else is doing poorly.

Gee, I wonder where people could have gotten that impression!

This is, keep in mind, the same “mainstream” media that has been shocked, SHOCKED I say, each time US economic performance has exceeded their predictions — as has happened (not coincidentally) with virtually every economic report since President Bush took office.

Go figure.

But don’t go telling little Billy and Susie that Santa won’t be coming this year just yet…